Losing Perspective
by Barbara
Summary: Exactly why did Sandoval act like such an idiot in Phantom Companion? Sequel to New Nightmares


Losing Perspective

By Barbara

Disclaimer:  They ain't mine.  I wish they were, but they belong to someone else.

Sequel to What We Have Lost(Spoilers for Phantom Companion)

Please ignore any discrepancies between the story and the episode.  I could only find a synopsis of the episode so I had to rely on my memory for exactly what happened in certain sections.  My thanks to everyone who helped me mind those synopses.

*********

Sandoval was so exhausted when he reached his apartment that he virtually fell into bed, only barely remembering to take his clothes off.  The day had been one exhausting thing after another.  He quickly fell into a dreamless sleep, awakening the next morning feeling as if he had barely slept at all.  His mind seemed much clearly than the previous day, though.

As he got out of bed, he began to replay the previous day's events in his head, as always.  It helped him to see them more objectively and to determine the mistakes of the previous day so he wouldn't make them again.  Yesterday had been a near disaster, he thought as he brushed his teeth.  The mothership almost crashing into the Earth, the search for the culprit, the confrontation with the other Companion Protectors- it had all combined to make yesterday a serious trial.

As Sandoval dressed, he reviewed his actions on the mothership.  Looking back with the benefit of time and distance- and without the anger of nearly dying without stopping the Taelons or meeting his son- he realized he had acted foolishly.  He had been reacting, not thinking.

His actions regarding Ms. Palmer were clear proof of that.  If she had been responsible for the mothership's near disastrous contact with Earth, she would not have remained on board to die with the Taelons.  She would have found some excuse to be far from the mothership when the destruction occurred.  That she had been on board certainly suggested that she had nothing to do with what had seemed at the time to be sabotage.

Then, his insistence on speaking to her after she had been badly injured.  There was nothing she would be able to tell him that wasn't obvious from looking at her.  She had been injured when she was thrown against the wall.  How else did he think she had been injured?  And if he thought she had been injured in some other way, why was he asking her?  If she had been injured by something else, she wouldn't have told him.  It was obvious she didn't care for him at all.

Overhead, he heard the sound of his shuttle arriving to take him to the mothership.  As he ate the bagel and coffee the Volunteer had brought with him, he continued his review of the previous day's events.  Then the confrontation among the other Companion Protectors that he had spied on.  It was clear that the CVIs were breaking down.  However, Kincaid didn't need to throw that in their faces, and the fact that HE didn't have a CVI…  He wondered sometimes if Kincaid purposefully antagonized everyone in his vicinity. He certainly seemed to manage it well enough with his attitude. 

Everyone seemed to have immediately suspected Kincaid: himself, the other Companion Protectors…  What none of them took into account was that he had become a Protector without getting a CVI.  While that might indicate that the only person without a MI would be the saboteur, they all knew the motivational imperatives were breaking down.  It would actually have been more likely to have been a Protector WITH a CVI since they would have legitimate reasons for hating the Taelons and wanting to kill them… just as he did.  A person without a CVI would never have had to do things he hated but that his MI made him do.  He wouldn't have had reasons to hate the Taelons for what they had done to him.  He should have thought of that, but he hadn't.  

The only reason he could think of for focusing on Kincaid was that since he knew Kincaid better than he knew the other protectors, he knew Kincaid didn't always agree with the Taelon agenda.  But that didn't mean that he wanted to kill them all, particularly since Da'an was on board and Kincaid had protected Da'an previously at risk to his own life.  It was obvious looking back with the benefit of hindsight that he hadn't been thinking clearly the previous day.  

Ms. Palmer's disappearance from Medical _had made him suspicious of her, but the doctors had insisted she was badly injured.  And doctors working on the mothership weren't likely to be working for the Resistance.  So unless she had wanted to die, she hadn't had anything to do with the sabotage._

The security tape of Kincaid with Malley should have convinced him that Kincaid wasn't part of the sabotage, but instead was concerned for Ms. Palmer.  In fact, the security tape's soundtrack was a clear indication that Ms. Palmer and Kincaid weren't working with Malley, but that Ms. Palmer was a hostage.  Ok, it was possible the conversation was a plant to throw suspicion off of Ms. Palmer and Kincaid, but he didn't think so.  It was doubtful Kincaid knew about the security cameras on the mothership.  He had never been very discrete before.  So why had he shown the tape to Zo'or without the sound?  Zo'or had made the obvious assumption- that Ms. Palmer and Kincaid were working with Malley- which had given him a legitimate reason to question Kincaid even though he knew Kincaid was not working with Malley.

He didn't know why he had acted as though Kincaid was the saboteur and not Malley.  After all, Malley was an unknown person with an unknown agenda with access to parts of the ship that most people couldn't.  That would certainly rank him very high on the suspects list to begin with.  Add kidnapping and his virtual confession on videotape to that…  It was clear Malley was the saboteur.  So why hadn't he seemed that?  His stupidity seemed to have no bounds.  And then his order to shoot Ms. Palmer as well as Malley…  What had he been thinking!?  He was acting as though she had worked with Malley when it seemed obvious she had been kidnapped.  You don't shoot the victim!!  What was wrong with him?  Why hadn't he seen the truth?  Or had he and he had just not cared?

And finally, what he had been trying to ignore, his interrogation, no, torture, of Kincaid… Yes, he hadn't been happy when he had seen what he thought was DeeDee the previous night, but what in the world had he been thinking?!  It wasn't _Kincaid's fault he didn't have a CVI and Sandoval did.  It was Da'an's fault.  All right, Kincaid was an annoying person most of the time, but what was he thinking, torturing him like that.  And to suggest, as he had, that he was __enjoying it…  It would be a wonder if Kincaid would ever be in the same room as him again, let alone help him.  And he __needed Kincaid to be willing to work with him.  Too often, the two Companion Protectors had to work together.  If Kincaid wouldn't work with him, and in fact wanted him dead(not unlikely considering how he had behaved the previous day),  he would never be able to trust Kincaid to watch his back and would have to split his attention between whatever threat they were investigating and Kincaid.  He needed Kincaid to realize he didn't hate him._

No, as he walked down the corridor to his office, he realized what he needed was a explanation for his total stupidity the previous day.  It was as though his reasoning had shut down and paranoia and unreasoning suspicion, and, he had to admit, hatred, had taken its place.  It wasn't just his interrogation of Kincaid, but his misrepresentation of the security tape, his suspicion of Ms. Palmer, and then his order to shoot her as well…  He wondered what he had been doing.  He wasn't normally this foolish, so why had he been acting this way?  

Thinking back, he realized his most egregious act, his torture of Kincaid had occurred soon after Kincaid had rubbed the other Protectors' noses in the fact he didn't have a CVI.  Accessing his CVI, which was growing more and more unreliable, he remembered he had been drinking his coffee and listening to the other Protectors argue with Kincaid.  Soon afterwards, he had started blaming Kincaid for DeeDee's death, and looking for a way to hurt Kincaid.  Looking back he realized these feelings had appeared rather suddenly.  And then he remembered Kincaid's brief report of the previous day.  The mothership itself had almost destroyed them for acting against what it considered the best interests of the Taelons.  What if it thought he had been acting against what it considered the best interests of the Taelons?  Malley had access to virtually every part of the ship, what if he had been drugged in some way?  Was it possible something had been put in his coffee?  He _had left it on his desk when he had gone to take care of some personal matters.  He had been gone only a couple of minutes, but Malley could have been in and out in seconds.  A drug to dull his thinking and increase his paranoia and emotions wouldn't have been obvious to anyone, and it would have seriously impeded his abilities, as was clearly seen yesterday.  If he hadn't been truly responsible for his actions, then maybe his broken ties with Kincaid weren't irreparable.  But he had been acting irrational prior to that time.  Maybe there had been something else affecting him- something in his office._

He started to reach for his global, but paused.  If he had been drugged, a fully functioning CVI wouldn't have allowed the drug to work.  If he went to a Taelon doctor, and he was correct about the drugging, the Taelons would know his CVI was no longer working.  As he thought more about it, he realized the only doctor he knew who might not tell the Taelons was Dr. Curzon.  Opening his global, he called her.

"Dr. Curzon."

"Yes?  Agent Sandoval, what can I do for you?" she relied looking surprised.

"I need to speak to you about a medical problem as soon as possible.  It's very important."

"Well, all right, Agent Sandoval.  I had a few minutes free, if this won't take too long."

"Thank you.  I'll be down momentarily."  Ending the call, he called again.  "Captain, I need a detailed security sweep of my office.  Look for anything unusual.  I want a team to go over every centimeter of this office."  Sandoval demanded.

The Volunteer Captain saluted, "Yes, sir, Agent Sandoval.  I'll have a team right on it."  Looking curious, he asked," What are we looking for?"

"That's none of your concern, Captain.  I want anything out of the ordinary reported to me when I return."  With that he closed his global and headed out the door to see Dr. Curzon.

***************

Sandoval sat back as the shuttle settled exited dimensional space.  If he was right about what had caused his actions yesterday… No, he couldn't hope.  Even if he had been drugged, all traces might be gone by now.  It had been almost, he calculated, 20 hours since the suspected drugging.  And if the drug were gone from his system, how would he ever convince Kincaid to forgive him?  He wasn't even certain why it was so important to him that Kincaid forgive him, but it was.

The shuttle set down in the hospital parking lot with its usual gawkers nearby.  Though many people had seen Taelon shuttles in the sky in DC, few saw them land, thus the gawkers.  Sandoval appeared to ignore them, as always, though he had a quick energy scan run on them for weapons, again, as always.  The gawkers were mostly harmless, but there had been several attempts on his life.  Such an assassin could always be hiding among them.  It wasn't likely, but he hadn't lived this long but being complacent with his own safety.  He knew what the Resistance thought of him.  In fact, he had been surprised that none of the attempted assassinations could be traced to people currently involved with the Resistance.  They had always been either lone individuals or from groups which had separated from the Resistance.  He often wondered why the Resistance itself had never tried to kill or capture him.  It obviously wasn't due to his security.  If the others could get that close, a more organized group could have managed it.  The risk had been substantially reduced by the crackdown and subsequent eventual pardon, but he knew the Resistance still existed.

As Sandoval walked to Dr. Curzon's office, he wondered again how much to tell her.  While he trusted her more than any other doctor, he didn't want to trust her with the knowledge of his nonfunctional CVI.  Of course, if she wasn't in the Resistance, and since he knew she wasn't working for the Companions, she might not even know what his lack of resistance to drugs meant.  Still, he had to be careful.

He knocked on the frame of her door to announce his presence, as the door was open.

She looked up. "Come in, Agent Sandoval.  Now, what was so important that you needed to speak to me immediately?"  She was wondering also, at his desire to speak to _her about his medical problem, rather than one of the Taelon doctors.  She knew that most Protectors were treated by Companion doctors and no others._

She was straight to the point.  That was one of the things he liked about her.  "I believe I was drugged yesterday.  I need to find out if I am correct, and if so, what drug was used."

"Forgive me, Agent Sandoval, but if you were drugged yesterday, why didn't you come by yesterday?  And besides, it's quite possible that any drug residue is gone from your system by now."  And now she had her answer.  He was worried that someone of the mothership was drugging him.  Obviously, he couldn't trust those on board until he knew who and how.  Still, she wondered what was happening on the mothership.  Most people didn't have to worry about those in their workplace drugging them.

"I know that, _doctor.  Nonetheless…  And as to your other question, I didn't notice anything was wrong until this morning, when I realized I had been acting oddly yesterday."_

"All right, roll up your sleeve.  This may pinch a bit, but of course you know that."  She took the blood sample quite quickly, discarding the used needle in the used sharps container.  She picked up a pad. "Now, what were the symptoms?  It might help narrow the drug down a little.  With the coming of the Taelons, there are a lot of new drugs out there."

"Let me see," he replied. "I was irritable, emotional… My ability to make rational decisions seemed to be reduced, while the darker emotions seemed to take over.  I felt anger, despair, hatred… all very strongly.  Looking back, it seems I was acting through emotion, not thought, which is very foreign to me.  I have always acted with my emotions under the control of my mind, never the other way around."  Even my hatred of the Taelons was first and foremost a rational decision.  I did not allow what they had done to DeeDee to determine what I thought of the Taelons.  It colored my mind, certainly, but it was by no means my only reason to decide to get rid of the Taelons.  "My emotions seemed to be blocking rational thought."  I thought suddenly, this sounds like a drug Zo'or would have liked.  Decreasing thinking while increasing the darker side of a person's nature.  Could it have been a Taelon drug?

"Well, all of us sometimes have let our hearts and emotions rule, rather than our mind.  But usually, we know why our hearts are in charge.  And if there was no reason, I can see why you would think you were drugged.  But…"

"Doctor," he interrupted, "I acted in a way… did things, that I hope I would never be capable of while in full command of my faculties.  My only hope is that I was somehow influenced."

"I understand.  I'll run tests for anything unusual."

"I'd like copies of any test results on any drugs found in my system, doctor.  The Taelons have a number of experimental drugs which are not yet on the market." Like those Zo'or has developed to control the Volunteers.  "Also, you do understand this is confidential.  I wouldn't want knowledge of this type of incident to reach anyone."  

"Of course.  Hopefully, the results will be available sometime this afternoon.  I'll call you when they're ready."  She replied, thinking that he didn't want knowledge of this sort of drug to reach anti-Taelon groups, or that he didn't want others on the mothership knowing someone had drugged him.

"Thank you, doctor," Sandoval replied gratefully.  "Now, since I have a very demanding job, I'll see you later."

"Of course, Agent Sandoval," she replied, and watched as he left her office.

As he walked out the hospital doors, his global beeped.  He stepped to one side of the doors, opened his global, and saw the captain he had ordered to search his office. "Yes?" he rapped out sharply.

"Sir, we found a device of some sort attached to the wall.  We were uncertain as to its purpose, so we removed it for further examination.  It's been sent to the lab for further study.  We didn't find anything else unusual, sir."

"Very well, captain.  Thank you for your thoroughness.  Which lab was it sent to?"

"Bio-medical 2, sir.  It appeared to have several organic parts which appeared to be Taelon," he replied.

"Very well.  I'll see what they turn up later.  That will be all, captain."  With that, he entered the shuttle and ordered their return to the mothership.

******************

As the shuttle entered ID space, Sandoval thought about what the captain had said.  A device was found in his office.  How long had it been there?!  He tried to remember if there had been any significant change in his behavior over the last few days.  Only yesterday stuck out, but that didn't mean the device hadn't been in place earlier.  It would have been simpler to ask someone if his behavior had changed in recent days, but there was no one he trusted to answer truthfully.  Except, he realized, Major Kincaid.  But Kincaid was unlikely to even be speaking with him, so that avenue was out.  And besides, he wasn't sure Kincaid really knew him well enough to notice any changes, anyway.

Instead, he tried to remember how he had felt for the past few days.  He had had headaches, but he had those all the time.  Working for those you despised had that effect.  True they had been stronger than normal, but if the headaches were caused by the device, then it had been in place for over a year!  He had been snappish and irritable for the last few days, but, he admitted to himself, he was often that way now.  And he had felt nauseous occasionally over the last few days, but again that was nothing new.  Whenever he thought deeply about what he was doing to people for the Taelons, he felt nauseous.  

The experiments he was in charge of were often brutal, inhuman…  but a few had to be sacrificed to save the many.  Even if he could kill all the Taelons, which didn't seem likely, that didn't mean the Jaridians would leave them alone.  That was what he had hoped in the beginning.  That, or that the Jaridians would kill all the Taelons and leave Earth alone.  But now, he didn't trust the Jaridians to leave Earth alone.  And so, he worked to make humans into Jaridian killing machines, knowing that even if the Taelons were gone, they might be needed.  That didn't mean he didn't care about what happened to them, just that he weighed their suffering versus the survival of humanity and found the sacrifice worthwhile.  He doubted the people he experimented on felt that way, but they didn't see the big picture.  The ends justify the means.  He had never understood those that didn't realize that.  To save humanity, any means was worth it.  Even, he admitted, their current hatred of him.  They would discover the truth sooner or later, and when they did…  He broke off that train of thought.  Better not to think of the atrocities he had committed.

He decided that there were no obvious symptoms he could trace to the device.  He would just have to wait for the report.  He suddenly realized the shuttle was setting down into the landing bay.  He hadn't even noticed exiting ID space.  Too wrapped up in his worries.

He headed towards his office after leaving the shuttle.  While he wanted to know what the device found in his office was, the technicians had probably not had enough time to determine that.  If he hadn't heard from the within a couple of hours however, they _would be hearing from him.  _

As he entered his office, he realized something else.  He had been assuming Malley had caused his problems because of his actions yesterday.  But it was possible the device had been in his office for several days.  There was no telling who had hidden it.  But Malley had come through the walls…

Sandoval pulled out his global. "Captain, I want a scanning crew back in my office immediately, and I want the device found in my office scanned for a biochemical signature."

"Yes, sir!"

Sandoval waited for the scanning crew.  Even if there were traces of Malley's entry, without a biochemical signature on the device, he would not know if Malley had placed the device.

As the scanning crew came in, he ordered, "I want the walls scanned for any anomalies."

"Yes, sir," the technician replied.  "What are we looking for?"

"I believe someone came through the walls with a device which cut and then resealed them.  Since the mothership is a living creature, such cut areas would show damage until they were completely healed," Sandoval stated.

He waited impatiently as the scanning crew ran the scanner over the walls.  "Sir?  The scanner is showing some damage to this wall."

Sandoval strode to the portion of the back wall the Volunteer was indicating.  "How long ago?" he rapped out.

"This wall has been healing for less than two days.  Anything over a week we wouldn't find because it would have completely healed."  He finished running the scanner.  "That's the only entry point, sir."

"Very well.  If you've finished, you can leave."

After the Volunteers left, Sandoval returned to his desk.  So, Malley _was in his office within the last few days.  That still didn't mean he had planted the device.  Just then his global beeped._

"Yes?"

"Sir, Volunteer Avery here.  I've been testing the device found in your office.  I'm not certain as to its purpose, but no biochemical residue was found on it,"  the sharp faced man stated.

"How long before a biochemical signature is unreadable?"

"A week, sir."

"Continue with the analysis.  When will it be done?" Sandoval inquired.

"Hopefully within the next two hours," the Volunteer replied.  "I'll contact you as soon as I know for certain what it does."

"I expect to hear from you soon," Sandoval stated before closing his global.  So, if the device had no biochemical signature on it, it had to have been in his office for at least a week.  Which meant that Malley's trip through the wall less than two days ago had not been to plant the device.  He might have planted it, but without a biochemical signature Sandoval would never be able to state with that with certainty.

He looked over his schedule, noting Da'an had a meeting with Zo'or in a little less than an hour.  Kincaid would certainly be there.  He didn't want to tell Kincaid what was going on, not yet.  Not until he knew for certain that he hadn't been responsible for what he'd done.  But the meeting would give him a chance to see how Kincaid felt about him now.  Whether he could even stand to be in the same room, let alone talk calmly, with Sandoval.

Putting aside that question, he threw himself into paperwork.

***************

Two hours later

Sandoval stared at his computer in dismay, not noticing the words written there.  The meeting with Kincaid had not gone well.  As soon as he had stepped into the room with Da'an and Kincaid, the Major had headed for the exit at the other side of the room, telling Da'an he'd be back when Da'an was ready to leave.  The look Kincaid had thrown him had quite clearly said, 'Stay away from me.' Just a few minutes ago, he had stepped out to use the bathroom, and Kincaid's report on yesterday's events had shown up on his desk in those few minutes.  Kincaid had deliberately waited until he was gone before dropping off his report.  He was disappointed, but not surprised.  What was the use in talking to him anyway, without any evidence to support his position?

Just then, his global beeped.  "What?" he snapped.

"Sir.  It's Volunteer Avery.  I've discovered what the device found in your office was intended to do.  It's a sound generator.  It generates a sound wave below the audible spectrum."

"What was its purpose?" Sandoval interrupted.

"Well, I've spoken to a couple of doctors.  Low frequency sounds have been documented to cause extreme irritability, nausea, and severe headaches.  This device is producing sounds in the frequency range known to have those effects," the Volunteer reported.

"Can you determine where it was manufactured? Are there any clues as to who placed it in my office?"

"No, sir.  It has no traceable serial number or identifying characteristics.  It looks like it could have been a one-off, made to order by someone in the Fringes.  Or the user could have made it themselves with a bit of engineering knowledge.  There's no way to trace it.  I'm sorry, sir.  That's all I could find out."

"Very well.  Put the device in a secure area.  I may want it later."

"Yes, sir," the Volunteer replied before Sandoval closed his global.  Well, he now knew what the device was for, but was no closer to finding who put it in his office.  He wondered how much of his irritability, nausea, and headaches were caused by that device.  Looking back, they have seemed to have increased in intensity over the last few weeks.  He doubted the device has caused all of his problems, but hopefully they would be much more manageable now.  But still he wondered who had placed it in his office.  

_Kincaid?  He doesn't seem to have much to gain from making me miserable.  I'd most likely take it out on him.  And he just doesn't seem the type to do this for no real reason.  Besides, I get the idea he worries about me, and maybe even cares, which makes no sense whatsoever.  He's not stupid.  He knows I've tried to kill him more than once.  Why would he care about someone who's tried to kill him?_

_Da'an?  Another person with little to gain in making me miserable.  While he hates that I know of his kryss addition, I don't see him having the technical expertise to make the device.  He's a diplomat, not an engineer.  And where would he buy it?_

_Zo'or?  Now he **would like to see me miserable.  But I don't see him having anything to gain by it, and he wouldn't do anything without a reason.  Plus, as with Da'an, where would he get the device?**_

_One of the Volunteers?  Well, I've made many of them miserable, I can see them wanting to get back at me.  Some of them at least would have the technical knowledge or contacts to get the device.  And they wouldn't have to worry too much about my actions, as they individually have little contact with me._

_Malley?  Another likely suspect.  The mothership has enough miscellaneous components to make the device, and Malley knew engineering.  Combined with the fact that he's been in my office at least once, he would seem the most likely.  Still, there's no real motive.  He's only recently become active, and my being irritable would not make me more likely to oppose Zo'or._

_Since I can't be certain who it was, looks like I'll have to sweep my office every few days or keep it sealed to make sure I have no little surprises left in there.  Sandoval turned back to his paperwork, waiting for a call from Dr. Curzon._

****************

Sandoval was immersed in a sea of his never-ending paperwork. He had become enmeshed in the day-to-day paperwork as a method of preventing clock-watching while he had been waiting for Dr. Curzon to call. One of his more trusted subordinates had recently died, in a _car accident of all things, leaving him without the final layer of administration which would normally have taken care of all the requisitions.  Still, the temporary hole in his staff had given him some unexpected smiles.  Who would have thought requisitions would be so interesting?  He was still wondering why the Volunteer station in St. Petersburg had requested summer uniforms, and he wondered whether the Los Angeles corps really thought he would let them purchase surfboards out of Taelon funds.  Surfboards were not 'a necessity of life when blending into the California landscape' though he did think about transferring the creative Volunteer who had come up with that description to his own staff.  He could always use people who could come up with creative explanations.  And at that, most of the truly absurd requisitions were weeded out by other staff members before reaching the higher levels of his staff, now temporarily his responsibility- like the ones for popcorn machines and circus tickets.  _

Sandoval looked up, startled as his global beeped. He hadn't noticed how much time had passed.  He picked up his global to see Dr. Curzon.

"Agent Sandoval.  The lab's completed the workup on the blood sample I took this morning.  Since the CVI and skrill cause blood changes, I had to pull your previous records and compare the two.  There's definitely a drug of some sort present.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to identify it using our drug library.  Here." She typed something into her global.  "I've sent you the pertinent records.  The liquid chromatography, mass spec., and biochemical assay are all there.  Hopefully, you'll be able to find a match."

"Thank you for your promptness in this matter, Dr. Curzon.  I appreciate it, and I'd be grateful if you did not mention this to anyone," Sandoval replied.

"Of course.  I understand.  I'll see you at your next checkup."  His global screen went blank.

_Well, let's see if the Taelons did create this drug.  He pulled up the files Dr. Curzon had downloaded to his global and sent them to his computer.  He then shut off the global and turned to the computer.  He had input his password and retinal print earlier in the day so that he could access the computer.  __Let's see, where would they put drugs in the database? He had never had to go looking for specific drug profiles before.  Previously, he had ordered Volunteers to get drugs with specific properties and they had complied.__  Medical? He scanned the file directories to find only files relating to Taelon problems- no suggestion of the creation of new drugs.  Humans.__ Now, **that was a huge directory.  He clicked on it and scanned the file directories now showing.  Emotions.  Physiology.  Reproduction**__?  I'm not certain I want to know what is in some of these files. CVI.  Willpower.  Biochemistry.  Reflexes.  Sex.__  I **definitely don't want to know what is in some of these directories.  Drugs**__.  There it was.  He clicked on drugs.__  He scanned the new directories.  Reproduction.  __What are the Taelons doing?  Last modified over a year ago.__  Ahh, that was the portal experiments.  Interrogation.  Willpower.  Pain. __Reducing or increasing it?  _

There had to be a better way to do this.  Actually, there almost certainly was, but he didn't want to get anyone else involved unless he had to.  

Emotion Manipulation.  Mind Control.  _Both of those sounded likely.  He clicked on Emotion Manipulation.  Inside were over fifty files on different drugs.  Well, based on his earlier assessment of the drug, it had not been created recently.  The results caused were not what Zo'or was looking for now.  He arranged the files in date order and started opening them beginning with the oldest._

No. No. No. No. _God, this was boring.  He had to check every one, comparing the liquid chromatography results and the molecular weight with that of the drug found in his system.  It was a long tedious process made worse by the fact the Taelons used different standards for liquid chromatography so he couldn't simply look at the two plots to see if they were the same._

Finally.  The latest drug profile _did seem to match.  And the symptoms- paranoia, decrease of emotional control and reasoning ability- seemed to fit.  He only needed to discover if any of the drug was missing.  He could order one of the Volunteers to check, but if they were in on it, they would tell him what he wanted to hear.  Paranoid, yes, but that was how he had survived this long.  That hadn't been a factor when he had asked the Volunteers to search his office because they didn't know what he wanted to find or whether he wanted to find anything. _

He changed screens to the area marked Inventory Control and input the drug name, Trial J, into the computer.  Trial J was listed as being located on level 3, hall 8, storage room R3, deep in the heart of the mothership's holds. The inventory listed ten ampules of the drug.  The records did not list anyone removing any of the drug in the past year.  He downloaded the drug's exact location to his global and then shut off the computer, locking it so no one else could access it.

He left the office, heading for the equipment supply stores.  Before visiting the storage room, he needed to get a detector to determine if Malley had been in the room. 

***********

As Sandoval walked down the corridor, he kept careful track of the people around him.  He was always checking to see who was keeping track of his movements.  He knew the Resistance, now the ANA, had operatives on the mothership. Because of his position, they would be particularly interested in his activities.

While a number of people had come forward during the amnesty when the President had offered it, no one within the Volunteers or any others working for the Taelons had come forward.  He knew the Resistance had to have spies in the Volunteers, and probably on the mothership.  Those operatives, however, would not have been foolish enough to come forward when the pardons were offered.  They knew the Taelons would have _disposed of them quickly or fired them, or if neither of those was possible, placed them in positions where they would never learn anything.  Since the ANA still needed information on what the Taelons were doing, they were probably still in place.  _

He had a few ideas as to who those operatives were.  There were several Volunteers who displayed a little too much interest in his activities.  He hadn't done anything about it though.  He wasn't about to turn them over to Zo'or, and he had no proof in any case.  Besides, they would be useful if he ever needed to contact the ANA or needed something to hold over the ANA.  

He also suspected Kincaid had some ties to the ANA.  He seemed to show up in the middle of things too often for it to be coincidence.  He wasn't certain though, if Kincaid worked for the ANA or had operatives of his own within the ANA.  Either way, Kincaid would have been in the locations he had been in.  If he had operatives within the ANA, the operatives could have told him about ANA plans, and he could have been there to stop them, or he could have been an ANA operative himself.  Sandoval wasn't sure which one he believed.  Kincaid was devious, after all.  But he didn't think Kincaid hated the Taelons, as the ANA, and before that the Resistance, seemed to. He wouldn't be protecting Da'an if he hated the Taelons.  Though, lately, it had seemed that Kincaid and Da'an had grown apart. All of this made him think Kincaid had sources within the ANA rather than being a member of the ANA itself.  Still, the idea that Kincaid had a network of operatives within the ANA, and possibly within the Volunteers, was unsettling.

Just then Sandoval reached the equipment supply stores and waved his hand over the door sensor to open it.  When he stepped inside, he noticed absently that no one else was present.  _Good.  That prevented him having to answer any awkward questions.  Having been in the equipment supply room before, he had a good idea how the area was arranged.  He quickly walked over and picked up a general scanner which he could use to detect disturbances in the wall molecular structure such as those caused by someone cutting and resealing the wall. __Now **this would be able to tell me if Malley had taken the drug.  He suddenly realized that he had been **__assuming Malley had drugged him.  True, he __had been drugged, and Malley __had been in his office, but that didn't necessarily mean that __Malley had drugged his coffee.  _

He quickly strode over to another section of the storeroom and picked up a biochemical scanner.  That would be his best chance of determining who had taken the drug.  They hadn't used one in his office since the perpetrator was unlikely to have actually touched the coffee cup, and it had been washed already anyway.  A general biochemical scan of the office would have picked up traces from anyone who might have been in his office in the last few days.  The problem with that was that a number of people were in and out of his office on any given day.  The biochemical scanner would have been useless.

Realizing that carrying both scanners through the mothership would be bulky and would attract unwelcome attention, he looked for a carrier of some sort.  He found a pile of equipment bags in one corner.  Clearly the Volunteers hadn't been storing the equipment as carefully as they should.  Still, one of the bags would be ideal for carrying the scanners.  After placing the scanners in the bag, he headed for the inventory control console, where he indicated that he had removed a general scanner and a biochemical scanner.  Pulling out his global, he recalled the information on the drug's location and planned the quickest route to level 3, hall 8, storage room R3.

***********

As Sandoval walked down hall 8 to storage room R3, he noticed that very few Volunteers frequented this part of the ship.  It would be all too easy for someone to slip down into these corridors and steal drugs.  Security definitely needed to be upgraded.  Perhaps motion sensitive cameras in the drug storage rooms, he mused.  Guards would be too labor intensive for what would hopefully be an extremely boring job.  Cameras which only activated when they sensed movement would be much for efficient.  It would also be much simpler to look through the film than through that of a continuously recording camera.  Whatever he finally decided on, new security was certainly going to be implemented down here.  

When he reached storage room R3, he again opened the door via the sensor located beside the door.  The lights came on as he stepped into the room, indicating the room had been empty prior to his arrival.  

Within the room, tall columns were lined up in rows.  The columns were 3 feet in diameter, stretching from the floor to the ceiling.  The room reminded him of the inside of ancient Egyptian and Greek buildings with huge columns reaching for the sky.  Here, though, the columns glowed green with faint tendrils branching over them, much like the walls which was understandable since the columns were also composed of bioslurry.  Each column contained rows of compartments separated from each other by walls of bioslurry.  The front of each compartment was also formed of bioslurry to prevent the contents from falling when the ship moved suddenly.  With the constantly moving energy lines of the bioslurry, it was difficult to tell where one compartment ended and another began.  Sandoval walked to the inventory control station and removed a slender glowing rod about eight inches long. The rod was the opening device for the compartments.  Without a locking device of some kind for the compartments, it would have been impossible to prevent shifting or falling of the contents during battle or sudden navigation maneuvers.

Sandoval pulled out his global to recall the information on the drug's exact location.  The data indicated Trial J was stored in Column 15, Section 43.  

He hadn't been in this type of storage area before, and it took him a minute to discover how the Columns were organized.  It took longer to realize the columns also had letter designations, making finding Column 15, Section 43 much more difficult.  The Taelons' numbering system was based on the number 16.  Most of the areas he had been in previously were numbered in base 10, probably for the convenience of the Volunteers.  With the advent of the Volunteers, the Taelons had someone else to perform the more menial tasks, and thus the newer areas had numbering systems familiar to the people who did the menial work.  The numbering of the columns in base 16 indicated that this storage area was rarely accessed by the Volunteers.  Still, at least the numbering was in English letters combined with Arabic numbers and not in Taelon numbers.  He finally figured out the column ordering and found Column 15, section 43.

He pulled out the biochemical scanner and ran it over the column.  There was a positive trace, for Malley.  He wasn't enough of an expert to know how long ago Malley had been there, but he did know that traces disappeared after a week, so Malley must have been there within the last week.  

Using the rod, he opened the compartment to discover 8 ampules of the drug.  Two were missing.  Since Malley might have needed to use both on him to get the correct dosage, he pulled out his global again to check the drug dosages.  The data indicated that 10cc was the suggested dose when the drug was ingested rather than injected.  Each ampule contained 10cc.  This meant either Malley had taken both ampules, and one was tucked away in whatever corner he had thought safe, or that someone else had taken an ampule.  

To make absolutely certain that Malley had indeed been in the room, Sandoval ran the general scanner over the walls.  It took several minutes to scan all the walls, but he wanted to be thorough.  If someone else was behind this, they would have tried to implicate Malley, since he was known to be in Sandoval's office in the time in question.  After all, if he had been the person doing the drugging, he would have made sure the trail led elsewhere.  

The scanner did indeed show that the wall had been disrupted on the molecular level several days previously.  He had remembered enough from when the scanning crew was in his office to know that the disruption was less than it had been in his office, indicating that it had occurred longer ago.

So unless someone knew about Malley  and his method of moving through the walls prior to yesterday, they couldn't have used him as a scapegoat.  Which in turn meant that Malley had likely been the one to drug his coffee.  That didn't mean that Malley had installed the sound generator, or that there wasn't someone else out there with more of Trial J, but there wasn't anything more he could learn about that.  He would have to be satisfied with knowing that Malley had drugged him.

He hated the fact that someone out there had manipulated _him.  ****__He was the manipulator, the one who lied and used others for his own ends.  No one was supposed to __use him.  And what he truly hated was not knowing for certain who was trying to manipulate him.  Malley had, but Malley was dead.  He didn't know if there was someone else out there trying to manipulate him.  From now on, he was going to have to be even more vigilant, more careful… more paranoid than ever before.  He couldn't afford to have this happen again.  He had been out of control, and because of that could have irreparably damaged his relationship with Kincaid.  He needed a relationship with Kincaid.  He needed the Major's contacts with the ANA- they were his only means of learning what the ANA knew._

Which brought him back to one of the main reasons he had wanted to know the truth to begin with- Kincaid.  He was going to have to apologize to Kincaid.  It wasn't going to be easy, but for the two of them to ever work together again, he was going to have to do it.  He wasn't even certain the Major would accept his apology, though he did seem unable to hold a grudge for any length of time.  Witness his shooting at Kincaid on the freighter carrying Da'an and Captain Marquette.  The incident hadn't seemed to change the Major's attitude to him in the slightest.  But this was going to be asking a lot.  He didn't know if he would be able to forgive a person who had tortured him even if he later learned they had been drugged.  No, forget that, he knew wouldn't have been able to.  But Kincaid might.  That was the only hope he had.  He didn't want Kincaid to hate him for something he hadn't done on purpose.  If Kincaid hated him for something he _had done intentionally, that would be a different story.  But he didn't want someone else controlling his relationship with his coworkers._

Gathering up his equipment, he headed back to his office.  It was going to take some time to decide what to say to Kincaid to get him to believe him.  He had a lot of work ahead of him.

*************

After a couple of hours of serious thinking, Sandoval thought he knew what he was going to say to Kincaid.  He had the evidence to back up his story ready to present to Kincaid since he didn't think he would believe him without evidence.  _He certainly wouldn't have believed such a ridiculous story without evidence._

Sandoval took a deep breath.  What would happen in the next few minutes was going to be very difficult.  He looked at the evidence he had organized on his desk.  He only hoped it was enough to convince Kincaid.  If not, he didn't know what he was going to do.  He could delay this no longer.  He pulled out his global and called Kincaid.

Kincaid's amiable expression disappeared immediately upon seeing his caller to be replaced with a blank face having no discernable expression. "What do you want, Sandoval?" he virtually growled.

"Please report to my office immediately," Sandoval stated calmly.

"Sorry, Sandoval.  But if you look at the time, it's well after 7 o'clock.  I've been off work for over an hour.  Unless the mothership's about to be destroyed, or someone's dead or dying, I'm off duty- which means that I don't have to see you right now.  So unless it's something urgent, which can't wait until tomorrow, forget it," Kincaid replied, the distaste for Sandoval evident in his voice.

Sandoval thought for a moment. He was rather surprised by Kincaid's reaction.  He had never voiced any problems before about meetings at odd times of the day and had never before suggested that off-duty time was sacrosanct.  On reflection, it did seem obvious though.  _He was the reason Kincaid had a problem with a meeting at this time.  Kincaid was trying to avoid him.  He hadn't taken into account the major's current dislike of him when he had made his plans.  Making the major report in would make him even less likely to listen to what he had to say.  It's not as if this were a Taelon problem where he would have a legitimate reason for summoning the major to the mothership._

  "Very well, major.  However, I will see you tomorrow."  Kincaid's image swiftly disappeared from his global.  He was surprised the major had been that vehement in his refusal, but he quickly realized the major felt he had nothing to lose.  There wasn't anything worse Sandoval could do to him, not without a reason to arrest him, so he saw no reason to be polite about it.  He would have to try again tomorrow.  He didn't want to wait that long, but he didn't have a choice.  He quickly jotted down notes on all the things he needed to say to Kincaid.  With his CVI's erratic functioning he couldn't be certain he'd remember tomorrow everything he had intended to say.

***********

The next morning, Sandoval called Kincaid again, this time making sure it was during regular working hours.  Kincaid was as abrupt in his reply as previously.  "What is it?" he practically snarled.

"Please report to my office immediately, major."  _I need to get this over with.  All my dreams last night were about this conversation and your reactions to it.  I don't want to have those same dreams again tonight._

"Sorry, Sandoval.  I've got to brief the Embassy Volunteers on the new procedures involving the press, and then Da'an needs me to pilot him somewhere.  I know you don't want suggest that reporting to you is more important than Embassy security or my Companion," Kincaid smirked, hostility clearly present in his eyes, if not in his voice.

Sandoval kept his annoyance hidden. "Of course not, major.  I'll see you later."

After closing his global, he sighed.  Getting Kincaid to even be in the same room with him was going to be much harder than he had thought.  He needed to know if the major was going to be on the mothership any time today.  If he was, that would be the perfect time to have him report to the office.  He pulled up Da'an's schedule, remembering Kincaid had said he had to fly Da'an somewhere.  _Of course.  The reason he hadn't said where he was flying Da'an.  He was bringing Da'an to a Synod meeting on the mothership.  That would be perfect.  Synod meetings lasted for hours, and the Protectors generally stayed on board during that time.  He could confront Kincaid then._

************

He waited until Da'an had been called to the mothership for the Synod meeting to try to call Kincaid again.  He knew Kincaid would be on the mothership with little to do, since the majority of his paperwork was at the embassy.

He opened his global and input Kincaid's number.  When Kincaid answered, he saw the walls of the mothership behind the barely concealed hostility on the major's face.  _Good.  He was on the mothership. He wouldn't have an excuse this time.  "What you do want, Sandoval?" Kincaid asked, his voice icy.  If a voice could freeze matter, his would have frozen the entire mothership.  Obviously, he was getting tired of Sandoval's constant calls.  _

"I need to see you, Major.  Please report to my office immediately," Sandoval spoke calmly.  _Maybe if I'm more polite in my request, he'll comply._

"Sorry, Sandoval.  Da'an wanted these reports immediately.  I'm sure my Companion's orders rank above your wishes," Kincaid replied, the sarcasm clear in his voice.  _I guess polite won't work.  I'm not going to wait any longer.  This is killing my nerves as it is._

This was far past annoying.  Enough was enough!  He was tired of Kincaid's evasions.  While the previous two had been fairly reasonable excuses, this was flimsy at best. He knew full well that Da'an rarely read reports, and would not have required them to be done immediately.  He wasn't going to let the major avoid him this time.

"Da'an is in a meeting with the rest of the Synod which is expected to last for several more hours.  I'm sure you'll have time to finish your reports later," Sandoval replied, his tone equally biting. 

"Sandoval, you can't be certain when that meeting will end.  I don't want Da'an angry with me." The unspoken 'look how you act when you're angry' hanging in the air.

"Major, this was not a request.  I am in charge of the Companion Protectors, and you _will report here immediately," Sandoval snapped out, his anger at Kincaid's stalling manifesting itself in his voice._

"**_Fine," Kincaid bit out. "I'll be there momentarily." _**

The image disappeared from his global.  He gritted his teeth, trying to reign in his temper.  Kincaid had managed, yet again, within the space of _one minute, to get Sandoval angry with him.  Of course, Kincaid's previous excuses to avoid meeting Sandoval __had contributed to his anger.  But if this meeting was to go the way he wanted it to go, he had to be calm and rational, since it was unlikely Kincaid would be._

*********

The couple of minutes Sandoval waited for Kincaid to show up seemed to drag on for an eternity.  Now that he was finally going to confront the Major, he was nervous.  While there would be no obvious repercussions if the Major refused to believe him and accept his apology, their relationship would never be the same again.  They had worked together well before.  If the Major did not accept his apology, that would never occur again.  He didn't want the Major to hate him for something he hadn't done intentionally.  Of course, if it had been intentional, he wouldn't be apologizing.  

Major Kincaid stepped into Sandoval's office through the open doorway, his entire stance proclaiming his desire to be anywhere else.  "I'm here, Sandoval.  What do you want?"  He stayed at the opposite end of the office from Sandoval next to one of the chairs in his office, as far away as he could be and still be in the same room.

Sandoval noticed, but ignored, the Major's refusal to come any closer than he had to.  "Sit down please, major," Sandoval replied, waving his hand at one of the chairs in his office.

"I'd rather stand," Kincaid stated, the 'I want to get this over with and get out of here' clear in his tone.

"Major, I wanted to speak with you about what happened two days ago," Sandoval started, ignoring the animosity in the Major's tone.

"What's there to say, Sandoval?  As you said, you were just _doing your job,"  Kincaid interrupted, his face set, his tone biting. "I'll be sure to stay out of your way when you're doing your job the next time."_

"There isn't going to be a next time, major," Sandoval stated firmly, trying to respond calmly to the obvious bitterness in the Major's voice.  The Major clearly hadn't expected Sandoval's actions that day, and they had obviously upset him greatly.

"Oh, and how are you going to insure that?  Fire me?  Oops, you can't do that.  Only Zo'or or Da'an can.  Reassign me?  Can't do that either.  Torture me?  Did that already." Sandoval winced at that accusation and at the sarcasm clearly evident in the Major's tone.  "So what are you going to do?" He didn't give Sandoval a chance to respond, continuing, "You know, Sandoval, I thought there were a couple of things you wouldn't do.  I thought you still had something of a conscience.  Not much, I'll admit, but a little. Guess I was wrong. I wouldn't have thought you would enjoy someone's pain.  You showed me how wrong I was.  So what's next on your list, torturing children?" A brief flicker of emotion passed over the Major's face at that statement, too quickly for Sandoval to interpret.

Sandoval had managed to keep control of his temper during that tirade though it was difficult. But Kincaid had a right to be extremely angry after what he had done.  In a way he was surprised the major was that blatant in his comments, but he must have assumed he had nothing to lose.  After all, Sandoval had already tortured him for no good reason, there wasn't much else he _could do._

Sandoval had never seen such hostility in the Major before, though.  That was what was so surprising.  In fact, until now, he hadn't thought the Major capable of such hostility and bitterness.  After all, he hadn't been as hostile after any of Sandoval's attempts to kill him- had actually shrugged them off as if they were unimportant.  And so he had been taken by surprise by the sudden change in the Major's attitude.  For some reason, what he had done had disturbed Kincaid far more than any of the attempts on his life had.

"You weren't wrong, Liam," Sandoval replied quietly, surprising Liam considerably.  He had expected Sandoval to respond violently to his accusations.  He knew he had said more than he should, but what Sandoval had done, and his obvious enjoyment of it, had hurt, badly.  He couldn't just forget about it-pretend it never happened.

It wasn't the torture that had had Liam so incensed.  It was Sandoval's enjoyment of it.  He had realized long ago that if he were ever discovered, Sandoval would be his interrogator.  He knew his own father would be his torturer.  Sandoval was the head Companion Protector.  There was no way he would give the job of interrogating Liam to someone else.  He had accepted that risk when he became a Companion Protector.  In a way he had expected the torture-he had never really thought that he could maintain his façade of being a loyal Taelon stooge forever.  He knew sooner or later he would be discovered.  But what he hadn't expected, and couldn't accept, was the glee on Sandoval's face as he tortured him.  He had thought he knew Sandoval.  And then he had discovered he had been completely wrong.  Only maybe he hadn't been…

"What do you mean?" Liam asked far more quietly than previously, the wind virtually taken out of his sails by Sandoval's statements.

"Yesterday morning, when I woke up, I realized how badly I'd treated you," Sandoval admitted.  "When I started thinking about what had occurred, I couldn't understand what I'd been thinking or doing.  I realized I had let paranoia and anger take the place of reasoning that day."  He couldn't admit that those _had been his emotions, just augmented and without the rational control he normally exerted.  "I thought that I wouldn't enjoy another's suffering, but I did- and I didn't know why.  The only thing I could think out was that someone had drugged me."  He handed a datapad that had been lying on his desk to Liam.  "Here's an analysis of my blood taken yesterday.  You'll notice the traces of an unknown drug in my system.  I was able to find the drug in the mothership's computer."  At this Liam looked up in surprise from the datapad.  "The storage area where the drug was kept had traces of Malley's biochemical signature.  A search team found evidence he had been in my office within the last week.  It's all in the first report here." Sandoval handed over another datapad to Liam. "If you look at the second report on that datapad, you'll also see that a subsonic sound generator was found in my office.  The combination of the generator and the drug caused me to become extremely irritable and irrational.  It also suppressed my reasoning and heightened the darker emotions."  He sighed.  "I hope I would never have acted like I did in my right mind."_

Liam just looked at him, his mouth hanging open.  "So what exactly are you trying to say, Sandoval?"

"What I'm trying to say is I'm sorry for what I did to you.  I was under the influence of drugs, and I don't believe that without that influence I would have done what I did."  He paused for a second and watched as Liam blindly put his hand out to find the back of a chair and use that to keep himself from collapsing.  "In my right mind, I would never have enjoyed your pain, Liam.  And if I had been in my right mind that day, you would never have been on that table to begin with.  I'm sorry."  Liam collapsed into the chair he had been holding onto in total shock.  He looked at Liam, inwardly smiling at the look of astonishment on Liam's face.  He looked like he'd walked in on Sandoval having hot passionate sex with Da'an on the floor!  Liam just didn't know how to hide his emotions.  It certainly looked like he had never expected Sandoval to apologize.  Obviously Liam didn't know him as well as he thought he did.  He wouldn't apologize for doing his job, but he _would apologize if he had been wrong in his actions.  _

Liam didn't know how to react to Sandoval's apology.  He had certainly never expected it because Sandoval had never apologized before, for anything.  He just stared at Sandoval, unable to think of a reply.

After a minute or so, Sandoval began to get nervous.  Liam still hadn't said anything, and he wasn't sure what Liam was thinking.  "Well?" he asked curtly.  "Are you going to accept my apology or not?"

Liam smiled briefly at that.  _Now** that sounded like Sandoval. "I was just so surprised that you knew what an apology was, let alone would ever give one.  But yes, I do accept your apology."**_

"I know full well what an apology is, Kincaid.  You've just never deserved one before," Sandoval said with a faint smile in his voice. "I've never done something that I've regretted to you by accident before."  They were finally back to acting like they had before this mess had started.

"Now," he said more briskly, "This doesn't mean that I'll never interrogate you as I did two days ago, just that I won't enjoy it.  In my right mind I would **_never__ enjoy someone's pain." He shot Kincaid a long slow look.  "If you give me a reason, you __will be back on that table.  Betray me," he corrected, "betray the Taelons, and you'll be on that table so fast your head will spin." He smiled slightly.  "So don't give me a reason to interrogate you, and we'll be fine."_**

"Thanks, I think.  I'll do my best to make sure you never have evidence that I've betrayed anyone," Kincaid replied with a sarcastic tone.  "Now, if that's all you wanted to discuss, I _do have reports to finish."_

"Very well."  After Kincaid left the office, Sandoval said quietly to himself, "Maybe I should have left things as they were.  At least then, he wasn't making sarcastic comments to me.  Too late now.  I'll just have to put up with them, again."  He sighed, and returned to his work.

**************

Epilogue (Dream Stalker)

"You are most fortunate Da'an survived your brutal attack, or you would already be dead." Zo'or stared at Sandoval, distaste and anger evident on his face, at least to those who could read the subtle changes which denoted Taelon emotions.

Sandoval didn't know what was going on.  While he _had dreamed of attacking Da'an, dreams couldn't hurt anybody.  He knew he didn't have anything to do with the attack on Da'an, not that he might not have wanted to, and thus protested his innocence vigorously. "I am innocent, Zo'or.  I have no reason to hurt Da'an, or any Taelon."_

_As Zo'or tells me that Level 5 security protocols, security protocols that only I have access to, were used to penetrate the Embassy, I realize someone has set me up.  Who?  If this had occurred before I had apologized, I could see Kincaid setting me up, though I can't imagine him attacking his own Companion.  Still, I know he has access to some excellent hackers, hackers who could probably steal my security protocols.  I can't think of anyone else with the degree of sophistication in planning necessary to set this up that wants to get rid of me that much, unless- this was caused by the same person who planted the sound generator in my office.  I never **did find out who did that.**_

Hidden in the doorway, Kincaid listened to Sandoval try to convince Zo'or of his innocence.  They both knew it wouldn't work.  Zo'or believed only what he wanted to.  What mattered was not what the evidence said, but what Zo'or _believed.  Even with his evidence, Liam didn't think Zo'or would release Sandoval.  Zo'or believed that there had to be a responsible party for everything.  If the real responsible party could not be found, any viable possibility would be used.  He would rather punish the wrong person than not punish anyone._

"He's telling you the truth, Zo'or," Kincaid stated, stepping into the room.  _To say I'm surprised would be a severe understatement. I've never given him any reason to help me.  I never imagined, even after my apology that Kincaid would stand up for me.  The apology was just to keep him willing to work with me.  Did he attribute more to that apology than I intended to say?  I didn't want him to know that I care about his opinion of me.  But why else would he be helping me?  _

"Your loyalty to your species is commendable, Major Kincaid, but a Taelon has been brutally attacked.  The perpetrators must be punished," Zo'or responds. _ I could tell him that species loyalty would never be the reason Kincaid would do something.  He wouldn't let an attempted murderer go.  Which means he doesn't think I did it.  Does this mean he knows who did?_

"Agent Sandoval isn't the perpetrator," Kincaid reiterated.

_As Zo'or and Kincaid argue, I hear the Major mention that my security codes were captured by hacking into the Embassy's mainframe.  He looked for hacking, before confronting me?  Does this mean he never even thought I could have attacked Da'an?  He looked for evidence that would exonerate me.  Why?  _

*********

_As Kincaid and I stand in my cell together, I wonder why he's helping me.  It can't be just because I'm his superior.  In that case, most subordinates **wouldn't help, hoping to become the boss after the removal of their boss.  I can't see Kincaid doing ****that, though.**_

"I need your connection with bandit dream technology," Kincaid stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about." _ Why does he want that?  It doesn't have anything to do with the attempt on Da'an.  He was interested in that technology earlier.  Was this all just a setup to get this information from me? _

"A stalker got into your dream, provoked you to murder, and then framed you.  Am I getting close?"

"Interesting theory."  _That certainly seems to be what happened.  I remember Da'an in my dream provoking me to attack him.  I wonder how Kincaid knew?  Maybe- he was discussing this technology earlier because this had happened to someone he cared about.  I don't know why I'm wishing that were me.  I guess this isn't a setup by him to get the information after all.  I'm glad it wasn't.  I wish I could trust him enough to not come up with ulterior motives for his every word. _

"You want to help me catch him, or you want to gamble on Zo'or's sense of justice?"  _Zo'or's sense of **justice?  Well, the Major always ****did have**** an ironic sense of humor. **_

"I didn't get any names.  I dropped the payment at some tech mart at Second and Central."  _So he thinks whoever had the dream tech is the culprit.  Well, that would explain how they had a sample of my biochemical signature.  It was on the payment.  But what did **I do to them?  Not pay them enough?  But this does make me think whoever did this isn't the same person who planted the sound generator.  Few people have access to the mothership without being accompanied every step of the way other than the Volunteers.  And I don't think hardly any of the Volunteers are technical experts, at least not with cutting edge technology such as this.**_

"Major, I'd, uh, I'd be appreciative of anything you can do."  _It's hard, very hard, to ask him for help, but I have no choice.  He seems to know what's going on, and I need someone on the outside to find the real perpetrators.  The other reason I'm asking him for help is much simpler.  He's the only one who actually seems willing to help me.  Most other people would have laughed in my face if I had asked them for help.  And the only reason he's even in this cell where I can ask for help is because I apologized to him.  If I hadn't, I'd probably be dead soon.  But I think he'll find the culprit.  Who would have thought my apology would save my life?_

END


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